Texas A&M beat Lipscomb in 2011 NCAA Championship Opener - Volleyball
The Lipscomb Bisons dropped a hard-fought match to hosts Texas A&M in the first round match of NCAA Tournament on Thursday, December 1 at the Reed Arena. Bisons secured only one set in the match, while charged-up A&M squad pulled off success by claiming
rest of three set. They posted 3-1 (16-25, 16-25, 25-12, 22-25) victory over visiting team and advanced to the second round of the tournament.
The Lady Bisons (20-11) dropped the first two sets with identical score but refused to give up. They did not lose heart and came out roaring to win the third set. The Aggies of Texas A&M (23-7) proved to be better side and finished the game by winning
fourth set.
Freshman Jewell Dobson supported the Lipscomb offensively and added match-high 13 kills, while newcomer Lauren Ford followed with 10-kils. Defensively, Lipscomb’s four players posted four double-figure digs. Sophomore Caitlin Dotson topped others
with team-high 17-dig.
Kelsey Black, an All-Big 12 first-team selection notched 11 kills for the winning squad. She also completed a double-double in the match. Defensively, Mellinger had a season-high 20 digs and libero Megan Pendergast also put in 17 digs. The setter Allie
Sawatzky also posted a double-double with 32 assists and 11 digs.
The hosts built an early lead of 4-0 before the Lipscomb hit the equalizer at 7-all. The real rage started after the first technical timeout when both team exchanged long rallies. The Aggies played fast and managed to overcome the Bisons. They offered
strong defence and seized first-set win at 25-16.
The second was full of ties in the first few minutes. A&M tried to put pressure on the rival side but Lipscomb fought bravely. However, the hosts gradually strengthened their grip on the ball and took control of operations. Bisons struggled but could
not catch up with Aggies. Another set slipped from their hands with identical score of 25-16.
Seemingly, A&M squad had better position in the match after two sets’ win in row but Lady Bison made a great come back in third set. They staged great action on the centre court and disturbed the flow of Aggies with 25-12 win.
The Aggies bounced in the game in fourth set and restarted the hard-hitting. They showed no mercy and defeated Lady Bison in fourth set and announced match victory.
“The message was real simple coming into the break between two and three. It was let’s just go and play our game. I thought we did a nice job of speeding up the tempo. We got after it on defense and made a couple of minor adjustments but nothing big.”
said Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal.
Likewise, his counterpart and the coach of winning squad, Laurie Corbelli state: “We were fortunate, especially against a team that played so hard like gangbusters against us. I think that it’s a style that we’re not super familiar with. It caught
us off guard in set three.”
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